Since they clashed back at UFC 179, the only other contest that Ferreira has dropped was to former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. After that loss, Ferreira cleaned up his game and has been on an absolute tear, racking up six wins in a row over the likes of Rustam Khabilov, Mairbek Taisumov and Anthony Pettis.
Those big wins earned Ferreira a number 10 ranking in the division and set up his first Top 15 showdown with the 13th ranked Dariush.
The matchup with Ferreira isn’t a fight that Dariush expected would end up happening again, especially right now. The truth remains that he just wants to keep fighting and keep winning. That type of patience is something that Dariush has had to work on since making waves in the UFC. He was immediately a fighter that people had high expectations for, and while he had some great success early in his career, he would face adversity time and time again.
“Two years I went without a victory. I had a loss, a draw and then another loss. It was the hardest time in the life but at the same time it made me who I am right now,” said Dariush. “It was so bitter but right now it is sweet. It’s the thing that stands out the most [in my UFC career], and because it was the lowest of the lows, I appreciate the highs so much more.”
That refined outlook has created the Beneil Dariush you will see in the UFC APEX on February 6. He’s confident, he’s patient and he’s expecting to make a statement by taking out another lightweight dark horse.
“It’s not an easy fight and I recognize that now and I don’t want it to be close like the last fight,” said Dariush. “I want people to say, ‘Why did we even match these guys up again?’”
Watch Dariush and Ferriera run it back at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Volkov, which airs on ESPN+ at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
